Fending Off an Intruder
by gesticulatingwildly
Summary: Donna thinks there's an intruder in her apartment. Josh comes to the rescue. Some spoilers for the Gaza arc.


"How'd your leg hold up today?"

It was a question he asked most nights, always on the phone. Since the 'incident' in Gaza and Donna's return to work, Josh had been far more attentive, which explained why he called every night just before she went to sleep. It was usually under the guise of checking a work matter but she figured really it was to check how she was doing, and to ensure she didn't feel alone at night. She hoped this attentive trend continued.

"Ok…"

"You don't sound certain?" She could hear the concern in his voice, instantly regretting that she didn't bluff more confidence when she answered.

"It'll get there, Josh. It's just a lot of walking right now."

"Yeah, sorry. Maybe we could work something out?"

"I'll be fine. The exercise is probably good for it, anyhow."

"Yeah, I guess…"

As Donna went to answer in some kind of supportive fashion, she heard some weird noises emanating from somewhere else in the apartment. It sounded like the kind of noises she'd hear when her roommate was coming home late and poking around the kitchen for food. Except that her roommate had moved out a month ago.

"You ok? You've gone really quiet," Josh asked over the phone. His voice surprising her for a moment, while she was trying to concentrate on the noises outside her bedroom.

"I think…I think there might be someone else in the apartment…" She whispered this quietly into the phone, just in case.

"What?!" Josh screeched down the phone.

"Yeah, there are some weird noises…I don't know. I don't know if I should go check."

"No! Stay there. Don't move a muscle. I'll be right there. Call 911, but I'll be there, ok? Just don't go out there. Ok, Donna?"

"But what if I imagined it? I'll be wasting the cops' time."

There was no answer on the other end. Josh clearly having hung up the moment he finished his sentence. The noises continued, but they weren't really getting louder exactly.

Donna's leg was much sorer than she was willing to admit to Josh, and she really didn't want to face up to whatever was out there. She knew she should take action. Go look. Call the police. Something. But right that second, she'd lost her fight. Instead, she hid her head under the blanket and hoped that this would solve everything. It was childish, she knew. Pre-Gaza her would have been unimpressed right now.

A few miles away, Josh was driving the fastest he could ever recall driving. Luckily, it was late so the roads were pretty empty anyhow. The moment he hung up on Donna, he'd grabbed his car keys and a baseball bat, and hadn't stopped to think much further than that. All he could think was how he wasn't there to protect her last time, and that he wasn't going to let it happen again.

Just as he reached an intersection about a mile from Donna's apartment, the lights changed to red. As he got closer, he spotted a car from the right start to pull away from the light. Reacting instinctively, he put his foot down, accelerating through the red light and around the other car just in time.

Reaching her apartment a minute or two later, Josh was pleased to see he could dump his car outside her apartment for once, but also concerned by the lack of police car in the vicinity. He grabbed the bat and let himself in her building. Rushing upstairs, for the briefest of moments he wondered what he'd do if there was someone there. What if they had a knife? Or a gun? Then he remembered Donna and figured as long as she was ok, he didn't really care about much else.

Reaching her door, he took a deep breath and unlocked it, quietly, just in case. Stepping in slowly, he fumbled to find the light switch by the door, still clenching the bat tightly in his other hand. His senses heightened, he flinched a little when the lights came on, then looked around. Nothing. The apartment looked just like it always did. The lack of Donna in her living room concerned him, though.

Stepping into the kitchen, bat raised ready to hit out, it was just as quiet. Although, he did notice that some stuff on the counter looked potentially disturbed. "What the hell?" he thought. "Burglars that want to steal food?"

He considered calling out for Donna, but what if she'd got out, and he was giving a heads up to the intruder? He made his way cautiously to her bedroom instead.

Nudging the door gently with his bat, he noticed the light was on. A little nervously, he whispered Donna's name. Nothing.

Stepping through the gap in the door, he prepared to lunge at whoever was waiting for him.

A slightly shaking mound under the blanket on Donna's bed was all that was waiting for him. Smiling just a little to himself as he realised what 'it' was, he knelt down next to the bed.

"Donna? It's me, Josh," he softly said to the blanket mound.

The mound moved a little, creating a gap so that he could see a hint of blonde hair before half a head poked out of the hole.

Looking over to see it was Josh staring back at her, Donna threw the blanket off herself, before pretty much flinging herself at Josh. She hugged him tightly, Josh leaning a little on his heels to support her as he hugged her just as tightly back.

"Hey, it's ok, Donna. It's ok," he whispered as he stroked her back gently.

Donna resisted the urge to cry. She felt embarrassed enough that she'd hidden under the blanket as it was.

"Is it all ok out there?" she asked quietly.

Josh nodded into her neck.

"I think so. I mean I've not checked the spare room but…"

"What?" Donna leant back away from Josh, looking at him nervously.

"It's ok. I'll go look now. You stay here, ok?"

Donna nodded, as Josh went to stand, briefly kissing her on the forehead as he moved.

Grabbing the discarded bat, he stalked his way back out of her bedroom, making his way to the spare room. He felt more confident now, knowing that Donna was safe.

Reaching the door, he flung it open, ready to hit out at…no one. The room was as empty as the rest of the place. He almost felt foolish, but, mostly, it was relief kicking in.

As he walked back through the apartment, he yelled to Donna:

"It's ok out here. I'm just going to double check the kitchen. You stay there."

Traipsing into the kitchen, he looked around to see what could have caused so much mess. He knew Donna wasn't the tidiest of cooks, but who left bags of chips torn open on the side? Even he didn't do that!

Just as he was considering leaving it to head back to Donna, he saw it. A mouse scurrying across the kitchen top. Maybe even a rat. He was far from an expert when it came to rodents. Instinctively and without much thought for anything, he whacked out with his bat.

He got lucky. The mouse/rat thing didn't. He'd somehow hit it in a way that meant he didn't create a mess, but that also meant the rodent wasn't going to be stealing any more food. It was the perfect clean kill, he thought to himself, shuddering a little. As he gingerly picked it up to put it in the trash, he felt a wave of guilt. The little guy was only hungry. He could have trapped it somehow. Probably. Stupid adrenaline, he thought to himself.

Cleaning up the kitchen side, as well as his hands, he headed back to Donna's bedroom.

"You ok?" he said softly, sticking his head round the door.

"Yeah. Come in…what was that noise?" Donna questioned nervously from the safety of her bed.

Stepping into the room fully, Josh looked decidedly sheepish.

"Er, well, I found what the problem was…"

Donna stared at him, waiting for a proper answer.

"There was a mouse in the kitchen…There isn't now."

Donna grimaced at the thought.

"What? How?"

"Turns out you shouldn't catch me by surprise," Josh smirked a little, before remembering that he'd just killed a small furry animal.

"Is my kitchen still in one piece?" Donna asked, slightly smiling to herself.

"Oh yeah, I got lucky. Mickey Mouse, less so."

He struggled to look her in the eye, still feeling a little guilty.

"Oh, Josh. Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're ok."

They shared a smile, both looking uncertain about what to say next.

"So, I should probably get going. You must be exhausted, what with your leg and all." Josh smiled as he moved towards the bedroom door.

"Wait!" Donna exclaimed, more dramatically than she'd anticipated.

Josh stopped and turned to her.

"Er, would you mind staying a little longer? Just until the adrenaline fades and I get some sleep? I'm still kinda hyped up," Donna looked nervously at Josh, as she admitted to this request.

"Yeah, sure. I'll, er, go sit out on the sofa," Josh hooked a finger in the direction of the living room.

"No, I meant…" Donna sighed.

Josh looked at her questioningly.

"Can you just come here? Please?"

Josh went to question her further, then thought better of it.

He walked towards Donna's bed and sat on the edge of it, opposite her, reaching his hand out to take hers.

In a quieter voice, Donna tried to explain herself.

"Thank you, Josh. I know it's stupid, but it sounded so much louder and scarier from here. I didn't know what to do…"

Josh nodded, but didn't respond, sensing that Donna needed to talk.

"…I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought. My leg is so sore that I feel weak and useless. The slightest noise makes me jumpy…"

She looked down, away from Josh, biting her lip to stop herself from crying.

Josh continued to hold her hand, while using the other to tilt her face up so he could look her in the eye. She looked so sad. So broken.

"Seriously, don't worry about it. I get it."

He smiled at her. A moment of complete understanding crossing their two faces. She slowly smiled in return.

"Can you stay?" She asked nervously.

Josh smiled one of his warmest smiles at her, knowing she'd appreciate it.

"Always."

Donna pulled on his hand, encouraging him to climb onto the bed alongside her.

Josh took the hint and snuggled next to her, his arms enveloping her in a hug. In return, she snuggled her head into his chest. He sighed in response, and that was what tipped her over the edge. She cried quietly into his chest. He didn't say anything, gently rubbing her back, while she let go.

After a few minutes, she stopped and looked at him. All she could see in his eyes were warmth and concern.

"Thank you, Josh."

He smiled in return.

"Want to try to get some sleep now?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "you won't leave though, will you?"

"Of course not," he smiled at her, squeezing her hand.

She smiled at him, before turning in his arms so as to reach out to turn the bedside light out. She soon returned to Josh, backing up and snuggling into him. Josh's arms wrapping around her tightly, instantly making her feel safer. He nudged her good leg gently with his, ensuring their legs were just as close as the rest of them. Finally, gently kissing the top of her head, he sank back down, his head resting just above hers.

"Night, Josh," she whispered.

"Good night, Donna," Josh whispered in return.


End file.
